Reviews by grumpygerman:

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12 ounce bottle, from a sampler case that I hiested a few bottles from at a party. Pours almond amber, clear, limited light khaki head, leaves a thin collar and just a wee bit of lace. Darker bready malts in the nose. Bland lager, caramel malts, moderatly dry and snappy finish. Not bad for the style, would work with newbies or as a sessioner in a pinch.

The carbonation is quite soft and unassuming, the body a decently solid medium weight for the style, and agreeably smooth. It finishes with a strong tendency to the dry, as the malt shifts in that direction, and the hops wait with expectant open arms.

A surprisingly enjoyable version of an Oktoberfest, even if the bottle's rather pedestrian labeling offers no such classifying indication. Well rounded in flavour, so much so, that I can foresee actually drinking the copious amount of its remaining friends in that big ol' box.

For a lager this is some top stuff. I have no idea what others are talking about when they badmouth it. Thia beer is light but with a light spiceyness to it. Nice light hop taste to it too. Perfect for these spring days. Very drinkable with a medium/light mouthfeel that is very hydrating and refreshing. Cheers!

Kirkland German Style, in the east coast Costcos, from Matts. This beer is darker in color than almost any regular german lager available these days. This is the loser among the four different bottled beers in the mixed case. Matts makes some attractive beers, but this isn't one of them. What german style were they aiming for? It tastes like an American lager that was augmented with a small amount of amber malt.

Pours a crystal clear copper color with a soapy white head that quickly settles into a very light ring. The aroma is quite faint. I pick up a bready malt with hints of caramel and peppery spice and that is about it. The taste is quite bready with a sweet caramel/toffee flavor. There is a tea like bitterness in the back end, though it's not very strong. The bitterness seems a bit out of place for the style. The feel is light to moderate with active carbonation; finishes slightly bitter and astringent. I expected the beer to be more smooth. An average marzen; starts off nice and bready but then takes a downward turn. Could use some more caramel flavor and less tea-like bitterness.

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear bronze and amber color with a finger of head. The head retention isn't very good, as it disappears within seconds. There's also very little lace on the side of my glass. The beer is quite effervescent though, as there are quite a few bubbles continually climbing to the top of the snifter.

Smell: The nose is malty and biscuity. It reminds me of an Oktoberfest because it seems like it has a touch of toasted reddish malt. The nose isn't jaw dropping, it's malty and clean, but that's the nature of the beast here.

Taste: The palate is quite similar to the nose. Each sip reveals lots of German malts and just enough hops for bittering and to add a little touch of flavor on the aftertaste. Notes of biscuit, toasted and untoasted malt shine through with just a little herbal hop at the end. Of the 4 beers that I had from Costco I think this one actually had the least watery flavor to it. The other 3 beers seemed to be a little watery during the tasting, but this one held its own.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied beer, well carbonated, and a nice creamy mouthfeel that makes it easy to sip on.

Drinkability: The last of the Costco beer. Honestly, I must say that their beers weren't all that bad. To style, drinkable and cheap.

Poured from a Utica, N.Y. brewed 12 fl. oz. bottle with an expiration date of Apr 05, 2010. Sampled on April 17, 2010. It has an amber-orange pour with a short-lived head the bubbles up a bout a half inch and then dissolves right off. I found the aroma to be rather bland. Yeah, there were malts and light hpps but nothing stood out. It certainly had a crisp, cleanliness in the taste and I noted more malts than anything else. This beer expired a couple weeks ago and it shouldn't make a huge difference in that short of a time. Then again, maybe it did. Nothing I would go out of my wa for.

The second of the four in the (mandatory) mixed case at Costco in VA (our MD stores don't sell beer... go figure). The label says "New Yorker Brewing Co." in Utica, NY; so I'm assuming a Matt (aka Saranac) connection. That's good because if this beer is any indication of quality (and Matt is involved so it can't be bad), being able to get craft brew for less than $4.75 a six pack is almost ridiculously cheap. But sometimes you get what you pay for.

I shouldn't have started with the Amber (the best of the bunch). This was a let-down. Wan yellow/gold in the glass with spritzy carbonation and a 1/2 inch head that disappeared quickly. Subtle malt with a bit of cardboard skunk in the nose, and the taste was a tad sweet then fruity, finally ending with a somewhat astringent aftertaste. Just didn't do it for me. Not bad, but just enough "off flavors" to render the whole less drinkable than I expected.

T - Hops become more prominent in the flavor thankfully. A good noble flavor balances very well with the pilsner malts. Crisp and clean.

M - Medium-light bodied and almost over-carbonated. Sharp bite to the dry finish. Crisp and refreshing.

D - I don't know why I expected a sub-par beer from Costco knowing it would be brewed by someone (I hope) that knows what they're doing. It's a nice and very drinkable lager that's straight forward with no flaws hidden among bold malts or over hopping.

Pours a burnt orange with a nice head that fades fast and leaves lacing. The smell is malty with some yeast notes, not much else going on. The taste is not very complex, mostly malt start to finish. The mouthfeel is light and watery, probably the most detracting part of the beer is that it tastes watered down. The drinkability is ok, a fine beer, just not much to it.

The recent reviews for this beer make me wonder if quality is deteriorating, or all the brewing has switched to a different contract brewer.

The Pilsner I'm enjoying was contract brewed by "Hopfen Und Maltz Brewing Company" in San Jose, CA. I believe it's an alias for Gordon Biersch, a (underappreciated, in my opinion) brewery in San Jose that makes many of Trader Joe's beers. All four beers in the Costco mixed-pack are solid in my opinion, and the lager is no exception.

I don't drink Pilsners too often, but this one pours a rich golden color with an amber hue. Darker than any macro lager out there. Respectable white cap has moderate lasting power, and retreats to a visible ring for the duration of the drink, leaving no lace.

Grassy Noble hops dominate the nose. Even with a cold pour, they're pretty potent compared to anything in its price range. I like the authenticity of the hop aroma. I also detect some bready, biscuit malts with a hint of sweeness.

Flavor opens up those malts. Quite a bit of biscuit, just a bit of caramel sweetness at the end, competing with moderate bittering. Those noble hops leave a bit of grass at the end that I'm not sure if I like a ton. Body is medium, with a refreshing and smooth finish. A bit of a palate cleanser, living up to its lagering.

A very drinkable beer... much more substance than any macro lager I've tried. Very versatile when pairing with food, and about as cheap as you can find and craft-brewed beer. (I paid $18 for 24-pack case)

The Costco case doesn't have a super clear stand-out in my opinion, but their halfway authentic and versatile German Lager is a great reason to get it if you're looking for a decent pils.

Presentation:
12 oz. brown long neck bottle poured into a drinking glass. Served at room/cellar (a.k.a. garage) temperature. No freshness date available.
I grew up with Costco/Kirkland Signature products, so I couldn't resist trying their new line of beer. Sure enough, it's got Kirkland's signature quality all over it.

Aroma:
Very soft and faint pale malt, with quite the grainy nose. Plenty of lager yeast with a hint of skunk like wet dog hair. Slight hop sourness with herbal notes hiding somewhere beneath the grain.

Taste:
Very dry bitterness dominates the back of the tongue. A flash of fruit is notable in the beginning, leading to a smooth malty profile. Slight herbal hops in the middle before going back to the dry bitterness in the finish. Medium-light body with a slick mouthfeel; slightly rough carbonation.

Overall:
A bit sloppy; no real hop or malt structure. And nothing German about this yeast strain. This is more of an American lager than a German pils. I guess they think simply calling it such helps marketing? I may pass on this in the future.
If I were to pair it with food, I'd take a stab at some baked seafood, grilled veggie sandwiches, or some hearty pastas.